Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … On the occasion of affirming the chastity and purity of Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha, the following verses were revealed: {اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ جَاء وْا بِالْاِفْکِ عُصْبَۃٌ مِّنْکُمْ لَا تَحْسَبُوْہُ شَرًّا لَّکُمْ بَلْ ہُوَ خَیْرٌ لَّکُمْ لِکُلِّ امْرِ مِّنْہُمْ مَّا اکْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْاِثْمِ وَالَّذِیْ تَوَلّٰی کِبْرَہ مِنْہُمْ لَہ عَذَابٌ عَظِیْمٌ۔ لَوْلَآ اِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوْہُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ وَالْمُؤْمِنٰتُ بِاَنْفُسِہِمْ خَیْرًا وَّقَالُوْا ھٰذَآ اِفْکٌ مُّبِیْنٌ۔ لَوْلَا جَاء ُوْ عَلَیْہِ بِاَرْبَعَۃِ شُہَدَائَ فَاِذْ لَمْ یَاْتُوْا بِالشُّہَدَاء ِ فَاُولٰیِکَ عِنْدَ اللّٰہِ ہُمُ الْکٰذِبُوْنَ۔ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللّٰہِ عَلَیْکُمْ وَرَحْمَتُہ فِی الدُّنْیَا وَالْاٰخِرَۃِ لَمَسَّکُمْ فِیْ مَآ اَفَضْتُمْ فِیْہِ عَذَابٌ عَظِیْمٌ۔ اِذْ تَلَقَّوْنَہ بِاَلْسِنَتِکُمْ وَتَقُوْلُوْنَ بِاَفْوَاہِکُمْ مَّا لَیْسَ لَکُمْ بِہٖعِلْمٌوَّتَحْسَبُوْنَہہَیِّنًا وَّہُوَ عِنْدَ اللّٰہِ عَظِیْمٌ۔ وَلَوْلَآ اِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوْہُ قُلْتُمْ مَّا یَکُوْنُ لَنَآ اَنْ نَّتَکَلَّمَ بِھٰذَا سُبْحٰنَکَ ھٰذَا بُہْتَانٌ عَظِیْمٌ۔ یَعِظُکُمُ اللّٰہُ اَنْ تَعُوْدُوْا لِمِثْلِہٖٓاَبَدًااِنْکُنْتُمْمُّؤْمِنِیْنَ۔ وَیُبَیِّنُ اللّٰہُ لَکُمُ الْاٰیٰتِ وَاللّٰہُ عَلِیْمٌ حَکِیْمٌ۔ اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَیُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ تَشِیْعَ الْفَاحِشَۃُ فِی الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَہُمْ عَذَابٌ اَلِیْمٌ فِی الدُّنْیَا وَالْاٰخِرَۃِ وَاللّٰہُ یَعْلَمُ وَاَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ۔ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللّٰہِ عَلَیْکُمْ وَرَحْمَتُہ وَاَنَّ اللّٰہَ رَء ُوْفٌ رَّحِیْمٌ۔ یٰٓاَیُّہَا الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَتَّبِعُوْا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّیْطٰنِ وَمَنْ یَّتَّبِعْ خُطُوٰتِ الشَّیْطٰنِ فَاِنَّہیَاْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاء ِ وَالْمُنْکَرِ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللّٰہِ عَلَیْکُمْ وَرَحْمَتُہ مَا زَکٰی مِنْکُمْ مِّنْ اَحَدٍ اَبَدًا وَّلٰکِنَّ اللّٰہَ یُزَکِّیْ مَنْ یَّشَائُ وَاللّٰہُ سَمِیْعٌ عَلِیْمٌ۔ وَلَا یَاْتَلِ اُولُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنْکُمْ وَالسَّعَۃِ اَنْ یُّؤْتُوْٓا اُولِی الْقُرْبٰی وَالْمَسٰکِیْنَ وَالْمُہٰجِرِیْنَ فِیْ سَبِیْلِ اللّٰہِ وَلْیَعْفُوْا وَلْیَصْفَحُوْا اَلَا تُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ یَّغْفِرَ اللّٰہُ لَکُمْ وَاللّٰہُ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِیْمٌ۔} (Surah An-Nur: 11–22) “Indeed, those who brought forth the slander are a group from among you. Do not think it bad for you; rather, it is good for you. For every man among them is what [punishment] he has earned of the sin, and he who took upon himself the greater portion thereof—for him is a great punishment. Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of their own people and say: ‘This is an obvious slander’? Why did they not bring four witnesses to it? So when they did not bring the witnesses, then they are, in the sight of Allah, the liars. And if it had not been for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, a great punishment would have touched you for that which you plunged into. When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge, and you thought it insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous. And why, when you heard it, did you not say: ‘It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You [O Allah]; this is a great slander’? Allah admonishes you never to repeat the like of it, if you should be believers. And Allah makes clear to you the verses, and Allah is Knowing and Wise. Indeed, those who like that immorality should be spread among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do not know. And if it had not been for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy—and because Allah is Kind and Merciful (then the punishment would have come immediately upon those who accused). O you who have believed! Do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan—indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been purified, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing. And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and those who have emigrated for the cause of Allah, and let them pardon and overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

It is requested from the readers that they also study the tafsir (exegesis) of these verses. The instructive lessons are already clear from the aforementioned hadith and verses; further details will come in the book “Kitab as-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah.”

In Sahih al-Bukhari, the details of this incident are as follows: Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha narrates the incident of those who accused her. People had slandered her, but Allah Ta’ala declared her purity. Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha says: Whenever the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam intended to travel, he would draw lots among his wives, and whichever one’s name came up, he would take her with him. For one battle (the expedition of Banu Mustaliq), he did the same, and my name came up, so I went with him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. This incident occurred after the verse of hijab (veil) had been revealed. I would ride in a howdah (enclosed litter), and I would be lifted and set down in it. We continued in this manner until, when the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam finished his expedition and returned, (on the way back) we had reached near Madinah when, at night, he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave the order to depart. When he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam announced the departure, I got up and walked ahead of the army. When I had finished relieving myself and returned to my howdah, I felt my chest and realized that my necklace of onyx beads had broken and fallen. I went back to search for my necklace, and I was delayed in doing so. The people who used to carry my howdah came, lifted it, and placed it on the camel I used to ride, thinking I was inside it. At that time, women were generally light and not heavy, as their food was little. So when they lifted the howdah, its weight did not seem unusual to them, and they carried it away. Moreover, I was a young girl. Thus, they drove the camel and set off. After the army had departed, I found my necklace and returned to the place where they had camped, but found no one there. I went to the spot where I had been, thinking that when they did not find me, they would come searching for me. While I was waiting there, sleep overcame me and I fell asleep.

Sayyiduna Safwan ibn Mu’attal radi Allahu anhu was behind the army. In the morning, he came to my place and, from a distance, saw a sleeping person. He came to me and recognized me, as he had seen me before the verse of hijab was revealed. When Safwan recited “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un,” I woke up. He brought his camel, made it kneel, and walked ahead, leading it, until we reached the army at midday, when the people had stopped to rest. Then perished the one who was destined to perish, and the leader of those who slandered was Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. Anyway, we reached Madinah, and I remained ill for a month. The talk of the slanderers continued to spread among the people, and in my illness, I noticed that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was not showing the same kindness to me as he used to during previous illnesses. Now, he would only come, greet me, ask, “How are you?” and then leave. I had no knowledge of the slander until I became very weak. (One night) I and the mother of Mistah went out to Manasi’ to relieve ourselves. We used to go at night, as there were no places for relieving oneself near our houses, and according to the old custom of the Arabs, we would go out to the open or the wilderness. As we were walking, she tripped over her cloak and fell, and said, “May Mistah perish!” I said to her, “You have said a terrible thing! You speak ill of a man who participated in Badr?” She said, “Aisha! Have you not heard what people are saying?” She then told me about the slanderers’ talk. Hearing this, my illness increased. When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came and asked, “How are you?” I said, “May I go to my parents?” My intention was to verify this news from them. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave me permission, so I went to my parents and asked my mother, “What are people saying?” She said, “My daughter! Do not worry about such things. If a woman is beautiful, her husband loves her, and she has co-wives, such things are common.” I said, “Subhan Allah! Did my co-wives say this?” She replied, “No, this is being talked about among the people.” I spent that night weeping, neither my tears stopped nor did I sleep.

When morning came, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam called Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib radi Allahu anhu and Sayyiduna Usama ibn Zayd radi Allahu anhu, as the revelation was delayed, and consulted them about separating from his wife. Usama, knowing that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam loved his wives, advised accordingly and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I know only good about your wives.” But Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib radi Allahu anhu said, “O Messenger of Allah! Allah has not restricted you. There are many women besides her. You may ask your slave-girl (Sayyidah Barirah radi Allahu anha); she will tell you the truth.” The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam called Barirah radi Allahu anha and asked, “O Barirah! Have you seen anything in Aisha that would make you suspicious?” Sayyidah Barirah radi Allahu anha replied, “By Him Who sent you with the truth, I have seen nothing in her that could be blamed, except that she is a young girl who sometimes falls asleep after kneading dough, and the goat comes and eats it.”

The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam then stood up that day to deliver a sermon and sought help against Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. He sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Who will help me against a man who has hurt me regarding my family? By Allah, I know only good of my family, and the man they accuse, I know only good of him too. He used to enter my house with me.” Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Sa’d ibn Mu’adh stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I am ready to help you. If he is from the tribe of Aws, I will strike off his head, and if he is from our brothers, the Khazraj, then command me as you wish.” Sayyiduna Sa’d ibn Ubadah radi Allahu anhu, the chief of Khazraj, stood up—he was a righteous man, but zeal overtook him—and said, “By Allah! You will not be able to kill him, nor are you capable of killing him.” Then Sayyiduna Usayd ibn Hudayr stood up and said, “You are lying! By Allah, we will kill him. You are a hypocrite, arguing on behalf of the hypocrites.” Suddenly, both Aws and Khazraj were about to fight each other, until they intended to fight, and the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was still on the pulpit. Eventually, he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam descended from the pulpit and calmed them down until they became silent, and he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also became silent.

I continued to weep all day, neither my tears stopped nor did I sleep. In the morning, my parents came to me. I wept for two nights and a day, until I thought my heart would break from weeping. They were sitting with me while I was crying, when an Ansari woman sought permission to enter. I allowed her in, she sat down and began to weep with me. We were in this state when the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam entered and sat down. He had never sat with me since the slander had been made against me. He had waited for a month, but no revelation had come regarding me. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recited the testimony (shahada), then said, “O Aisha! I have heard such-and-such about you. If you are innocent, Allah will declare your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then seek forgiveness from Allah and repent, for when a servant confesses his sin and repents, Allah accepts his repentance.” When the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam finished speaking, my tears suddenly stopped, so much so that I did not feel a single drop. I said to my father, “Reply to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on my behalf.” He said, “By Allah! I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.” Then I said to my mother, “Reply to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on my behalf.” She said, “By Allah! I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.” Sayyidah Aisha says: I was young and had not memorized much of the Qur’an. I said, “By Allah! I know that you sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have heard what people are saying, and it has settled in your heart, and you have believed it. If I say I am innocent, and Allah knows I am innocent, you will not believe me. And if I confess to something, and Allah knows I am innocent, you will believe me. By Allah! I find no example for myself and you except the father of Yusuf, when he said, ‘So patience is most fitting, and Allah is the One sought for help against what you describe.’” Then I turned over on my bed, hoping that Allah Ta’ala would declare my innocence. But by Allah! I did not think that revelation would be sent down concerning me, nor did I consider myself worthy that my matter would be mentioned in the Qur’an. Rather, I thought the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would see a dream in which Allah would declare my innocence. By Allah! The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had not yet left his place, nor had anyone from the household gone out, when revelation began to descend upon him, and the state that would come upon him during revelation overtook him, even in the coldest of days. When that state ended, the first words he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam spoke were, “O Aisha! Thank Allah, for He has declared your innocence.” My mother said to me, “Stand up before the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.” I said, “No, by Allah! I will not stand up before him. I will only thank Allah.” Then Allah Ta’ala revealed this verse: {اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ جَا ء ُوْ بِالْاِفْکِ عُصْبَۃٌ مِّنْکُمْ … } When Allah Ta’ala revealed this verse declaring my innocence, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radi Allahu anhu, who used to spend on Mistah ibn Uthathah due to their kinship, said, “By Allah! I will not spend on Mistah anymore, for he slandered my daughter Aisha.” Then Allah Ta’ala revealed this verse: {وَلَا یَاْتَلِ اُولُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنْکُمْ وَالسَّعَۃِ اَنْ یُّؤْتُوْ ا اُولِی الْقُرْبٰی وَالْمَسٰکِیْنَ وَالْمُہٰجِرِیْنَ فِیْ سَبِیْلِ اللّٰہِ وَلْیَعْفُوْا وَلْیَصْفَحُوْا اَلَا تُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ یَّغْفِرَ اللّٰہُ لَکُمْ وَاللّٰہُ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِیْمٌ} Sayyiduna Abu Bakr said, “By Allah! I love that Allah should forgive me,” and he resumed giving Mistah the allowance he used to give him. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would also ask Sayyidah Zaynab bint Jahsh radi Allahu anha about me, saying, “O Zaynab! Do you know anything? Have you seen anything?” She would reply, “O Messenger of Allah! I protect my ears and my eyes. By Allah! I know only good of Aisha.” Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha says: She was my rival, but Allah protected her because of her piety.